This invention claims priority of the German patent applications 100 30 013.8 and 101 15 590.5 which are incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a scanning microscope having a laser that emits a light beam of a first wavelength, which is directed onto an optical element that modifies the wavelength of the light beam at least to some extent.
In scanning microscopy, a sample is scanned with a light beam. To that end, lasers are often used as the light source. For example, an arrangement having a single laser which emits several laser lines is known from EP 0 495 930: xe2x80x9cLaser for confocal microscopexe2x80x9d. Mixed gas lasers, especially ArKr lasers, are mainly used for this at present.
Examples of samples which are studied include biological tissue or sections prepared with fluorescent dyes. In the field of material study, illumination light reflected from the sample is often detected.
Solid-state lasers and dye lasers, as well as fiber lasers and optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), upstream of which a pump laser is arranged, are also used.
Laid-open patent specification DE 198 53 669 A1 discloses an ultrashort-pulse source with controllable multiple-wavelength output, which is used especially in a multiphoton microscope. The system has an ultrashort-pulse laser for producing ultrashort optical pulses of a fixed wavelength and at least one wavelength conversion channel.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,870 discloses an arrangement for generating a broadband spectrum in the visible spectral range. The arrangement is based on a microstructured fiber, into which the light from a pump laser is injected. The wavelength of the pump light is modified in the microstructured fiber so that the resulting spectrum has both wavelengths above and wavelengths below the wavelength of the pump light.
So-called photonic band gap material or xe2x80x9cphotonic crystal fibersxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9choley fibersxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cmicrostructured fibersxe2x80x9d are also employed as microstructured material. Configurations as a so-called xe2x80x9chollow fiberxe2x80x9d are also known.
Solid-state lasers, such as e.g. the Ti:sapphire lasers commonly used in scanning microscopy, usually have a folded resonator with x or z geometry, which is formed by two end mirrors and two folding mirrors. The light from a pump laser is in this case injected longitudinally in the resonator through one of the folding mirrors, which are transparent for light at the wavelength of the pump light. In the optically active medium (in the example, Ti:sapphire), the latter converts to another wavelength and leaves the resonator as output light through one of the end mirrors, which is designed to be semitransparent for the output light. Since the resonator mirrors are not fully transparent for the wavelength of the pump light, the output light still contains small fractions of light at the wavelength of the pump light. This more especially causes interference in multicolour fluorescence microscopy, since the sample is not illuminated and excited exclusively with light at the desired wavelength, but also with light at the wavelength of the pump light. This causes undesired fluorescences, artefacts and in the final analysis, since components of the pump light also reach the detector by reflection and scattering, leads to incorrect study results.
All known arrangements for wavelength modification have this disadvantage.
It is an object of the invention to provide a scanning microscope with a flexible illumination which avoids the illumination of a sample with light of unwanted wavelengths.
The object is achieved by a scanning microscope comprising: a laser that emits a light beam of a first wavelength, an optical element that modifies the wavelength of the light beam at least to some extent and means for suppressing the light of the first wavelength in the modified-wavelength light beam.
The invention has the advantage that the undesired illumination of the sample by light of the first wavelength is avoided.
In a simple configuration, a filter is provided for suppressing the light of the first wavelength. It is preferably designed as a dielectric cut-off filter or as a coloured-glass filter. Especially when using microstructured material, such as photonic band gap material, for modifying the wavelength in such a way as to create a broad spectrum, it is advantageous to configure the filter in such a way, for example by corresponding coating, that the first wavelength is not fully suppressed but rather, within the modified-wavelength light beam, has the same power as the other components of equal spectral width.
In another configuration, the means for suppressing the light of the first wavelength contains a prism or a grating for spatial spectral spreading, downstream of which an aperture arrangement, which transmits only light of the desired illumination wavelength and blocks light that has the first wavelength, is arranged.
The suppression means can be fitted at arbitrary points within the beam path of the scanning microscope. It is particularly advantageous to arrange the suppression means directly behind the optical element, in order to prevent scattering and reflection of the light components of the first wavelength by other optical parts, since such components can reach the detector in this way.
In a preferred configuration of the scanning microscope, the optical element is constructed from a plurality of micro-optical structure elements, which have at least two different optical densities.
A more particularly preferred configuration is one in which the optical element contains a first region and a second region, the first region having a homogeneous structure and a microstructure comprising micro-optical structure elements being formed in the second region. It is also advantageous if the first region encloses the second region. The micro-optical structural elements are preferably cannulas, webs, honeycombs, tubes or cavities.
In another configuration, the optical element includes adjacent glass or plastic material and cavities, and is configured as an optical fiber.
A more particularly preferred alternative embodiment, which is simple to implement, contains a conventional optical fiber having a fiber core, which has a taper at least along a subsection, as the optical element. Optical fibers of this type are known as so-called xe2x80x9ctapered fibersxe2x80x9d. The optical fiber preferably has an overall length of 1 m and a taper over a length of from 30 mm to 90 mm. The diameter of the fiber, in a preferred configuration, is 150 xcexcm outside the region of the taper, and that of the fiber core in this region is approximately 8 xcexcm. In the region of the taper, the diameter of the fiber is reduced to approximately 2 xcexcm. The fiber core diameter is correspondingly in the nanometer range.
In another embodiment, the optical element is a further laser. It may be designed as a solid-state, gas or dye laser, or as an optical parametric oscillator (OPO).
In a particular alternative embodiment, the optical element contains a frequency-multiplication crystal, such as e.g. KDP crystals or LBO crystals.
Another configuration contains a further optical element, which is arranged downstream of the optical element and remodifies the wavelength of the modified-wavelength light beam. In this embodiment, it is particularly advantageous to suppress both the light of the first wavelength and the light whose wavelength was initially modified. Specifically, such a configuration contains, for example, a sequential arrangement of an argon-ion laser, a dye laser and a frequency-doubling crystal. A sequential arrangement of an argon-ion laser, a Ti:sapphire laser and, configured as an optical fiber, a micro-optical structure made of photonic band gap material is particularly advantageous.
The scanning microscope may be configured as a confocal microscope.